6 Best Tourist Destinations Trending On Tiktok, Including Vietnam

New research has revealed the top trending travel destinations on TikTok, including the most-watched countries, cities, and tourist attractions. With 49.9 billion views of ‘#travel’ on TikTok alone, the video-sharing app is fast becoming the go-to place to research and plan an epic trip – from staycations to far-flung adventures.

With over 461 million views, Japan is revealed to be the most-watched travel destination on TikTok and many videos include tips on etiquette for Western travellers and advice on when to travel to enjoy the country’s famous cherry blossom season.

Videos about Asian countries are the most popular for would-be travellers, with nine Asian countries featuring in the top 25 – including China (5th), Vietnam (6th), and Thailand (8th). In South America, it’s Colombia travel videos that are drawing the most views (55.8 million), and the only African country to appear on the top 25 list is South Africa (40 million views), according to Travel Daily News.

6 best tourist destinations trending on Tiktok

1. Japan, Asia – 461.2 million views

Photo: JTB Communication Design

On the surface, Japan appears exceedingly modern, but travelling around it offers numerous opportunities to connect with the country's traditional culture. Spend the night in a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn), sleeping on futons and tatami mats, and padding through well-worn wooden halls to the bathhouse (or go one step further and sleep in an old farmhouse). Meditate with monks or learn how to whisk bitter matcha (powdered green tea) into a froth. From the splendour of a Kyoto geisha dance to the spare beauty of a Zen rock garden, Japan has the power to enthral even the most jaded traveller.

Wherever you are in Japan, it seems, you're never far from a great meal. Restaurants often specialize in just one dish – perhaps having spent generations perfecting it – and pay close attention to every stage, from sourcing the freshest, local ingredients to assembling the dish attractively. And as you'll quickly discover, Japanese cuisine has great regional variations. The hearty hotpots of the mountains are, for example, dramatically different from the delicate sushi for which the coast is famous. It's also intensely seasonal, meaning you can visit at a different time of year and experience totally new tastes.

Japan is incredibly easy to get around: you can do a whole trip using nothing but its immaculate, efficient public transport. The shinkansen (bullet train) network now runs all the way from the southern tip of Kyūshū (the southernmost of Japan's major islands) up to Hokkaidō (its northernmost), and reasonably priced rail passes make it affordable. Major cities have subway networks that are signposted in English and these days we're seeing and hearing more English all over. But if getting off the beaten track and outside your comfort zone is what you're after, you can have that experience, too, according to Lonely Planet.

2. Russia, Europe – 246.6 million views

Photo: ING Think - ING Bank

Russia is at once breathtaking and baffling. Winston Churchill’s much-quoted line that the world’s largest nation represented “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma” is as true today as it was back then.

Monumental in every respect, it’s a land where burnished imperial splendour coexists with icy Siberian tundra, where timeworn Soviet-era monuments backdrop uber-hip urban cultures and where everything from the ruling party downwards functions in its own, impenetrably Russian, way.

The west of the country draws the most visitor attention, thanks to the presence of two extraordinary cities. St Petersburg and Moscow serve up sweeping postcard sights by the dozen. Moscow is the rapidly beating heart of the “New Russia,” where Asia and Europe combine to create a boisterous, enigmatic metropolis on a grand scale. St Petersburg, meanwhile, with its living film-set of palaces, cathedrals and waterways, is the grandest and most European of Russia’s cities, yet still retains a deeply complex character.

Exploration beyond these two main hubs, however, is well advised. The Golden Ring, a collection of ancient towns northeast of Moscow, still has plenty of period architecture and is easily accessed from the capital. By cruising along the mighty River Volga, meanwhile, it’s possible to travel south towards the Caspian Sea and see the country beyond its increasingly westernized veneer. And those heading east, into Siberia, will find a land of varied, often sublime natural beauty. From Lake Baikal to the old imperial city of rkutsk, and from the mountains of the Altai and the shamans of Tuva, Siberia has many secrets.

A combination of the above is drawing an increasing number of tourists to the Russian Federation – that it remains as obscure and mysterious as ever is all part of the charm. As the poet Fyodor Tyutchev once said: “Russia cannot be understood.”

3. Mexico, North America – 215.3 million views

Photo: Shutterstock

Palm-fringed beaches, chili-spiced cuisine, steamy jungles, teeming cities, fiesta fireworks, Frida’s angst: Mexico conjures up diverse, vivid dreams. And the reality lives up to them.

Mexico's pre-Hispanic civilizations built some of the world’s great archaeological monuments, including Teotihuacán’s towering pyramids and the exquisite Maya temples of Palenque. The Spanish colonial era left beautiful towns full of tree-shaded plazas and richly sculpted stone churches and mansions, while modern Mexico has seen a surge of great art from the likes of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. Top-class museums and galleries document the country's fascinating history and its endless creative verve. Popular culture is just as vibrant, from the underground dance clubs and street art of Mexico City to the wonderful handicrafts of the indigenous population.

At the heart of your Mexican experience will be the Mexican people. A super-diverse crew, from Mexico City hipsters to the shy indigenous villagers of Chiapas, they’re renowned for their love of color and frequent fiestas, but they're also philosophical folk, to whom timetables are less important than simpatía (empathy). You'll rarely find Mexicans less than courteous. They’re more often positively charming and know how to please guests. They might despair of ever being well governed, but they're fiercely proud of Mexico, their one-of-a-kind homeland with all its variety, tight-knit family networks, beautiful-ugly cities, deep-rooted traditions and agave-based liquors.

4. United States of America, North America – 146.3 million views

Photo: USA Today

Though its cities draw the most tourists – New York, New Orleans, Miami, Los Angeles, and San Francisco are all incredible destinations in their own right – America is above all a land of stunningly diverse and achingly beautiful landscapes. In one nation you have the mighty Rockies and the spectacular Cascades, the vast, mythic desert landscapes of the Southwest, the endless, rolling plains of Texas and Kansas, the tropical beaches and Everglades of Florida, the giant redwoods of California, and the sleepy, pristine villages of New England.

You can soak up the mesmerizing vistas in Crater Lake, Yellowstone, and Yosemite national parks, stand in awe at the Grand Canyon, hike the Black Hills, cruise the Great Lakes, paddle in the Mississippi, surf the gnarly breaks of Oahu, and get lost in the vast wilderness of Alaska. Or you could easily plan a trip that focuses on the out-of-the-way hamlets, remote prairies, eerie ghost towns, and forgotten byways that are every bit as “American” as its showpiece icons and monuments.

The sheer size of the country prevents any sort of overarching statement about the typical American experience, just as the diversity of its people undercuts any notion of the typical American. Icons as diverse as Mohammed Ali, Louis Armstrong, Sitting Bull, Hillary Clinton, Michael Jordan, Madonna, Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln, Elvis Presley, Mark Twain, John Wayne, and Walt Disney continue to inspire and entertain the world, and everyone has heard of the blues, country and western, jazz, rock ’n’ roll, and hip-hop – all American musical innovations.

There are Irish Americans, Italian Americans, African Americans, Chinese Americans and Latinos, Texan cowboys and Bronx hustlers, Seattle hipsters and Alabama pastors, New England fishermen, Las Vegas showgirls and Hawaiian surfers. Though it often sounds clichéd to foreigners, the only thing that holds this bizarre federation together is the oft-maligned “American Dream”. While the USA is one of the world’s oldest still-functioning democracies and the roots of its European presence go back to the 1500s, the palpable sense of newness here creates an odd sort of optimism, wherein anything seems possible and fortune can strike at any moment.

5. China, Asia – 110.1 million views

Photo: China Discovery

China (the People's Republic of China), as one of the four ancient civilizations in the world, has a long history and has formed a profound & colorful Chinese culture, from the far-reaching Confucian culture to the unique-style Chinese calligraphy and painting; from the distinctive Chinese tea culture to the world-famous Chinese Kung Fu, ... All and all are amazing and make you yearn for a visit. The land of China, with its vast territory and beautiful scenery, offers you so much to see and explore. From the ancient Great Wall to the modern skyscrapers in the metropolis; from the Yellow River and the Yangtze River to the roof of the world, from the beaches of Sanya to the snow county of Northern China... China makes you unlimited experiences.

The Chinese live to eat, and with 1.4 billion food-loving people to feed, coupled with vast geographic and cultural variations in a huge land, expect your taste buds to be tantalized, tested, and treated. Wolf down Peking duck in Beijing, melt over a Chongqing hotpot, or grab a seasoned ròujiāmó (shredded pork in a bun) before climbing Hua Shan. Gobble down a steaming bowl of Lanzhou noodles in a Silk Road street market, raise the temperature with some searing Hunan fare, or flag down the dim sum trolley down south. Follow your nose in China and you won't want to stop travelling.

China is vast. Off-the-scale massive. A riveting jumble of wildly differing dialects and climatic and topographical extremes, it's like several different countries rolled into one. Take your pick from the yak-butter-illuminated temple halls of Xiahe, a journey along the dusty Silk Road, spending the night at Everest Base Camp, or getting into your glad rags for a night on the Shanghai tiles. You're spoilt for choice: whether you’re an urban traveller, hiker, cyclist, explorer, backpacker, irrepressible museum-goer, or faddish foodie, China’s diversity is second to none.

6. Vietnam, Asia – 107 million views

Photo: Shutterstock

Despite its tumultuous history, Vietnam has bounced back to become a big-hitter on the Southeast Asian travel circuit. Unsurprisingly, from a country so long and skinny, there’s plenty of variety on offer: emerald paddy fields and white-sand beaches, full-tilt cities and venerable pagodas, limestone islands looming dramatically out of the sea, vast caves, craggy mountains, and friendly minority communities – with their elaborate tribal costumes and age-old customs. Travel to Vietnam and you’ll be met with warmth and curiosity. Add to that, some of the region’s most nuanced cuisine, and you’re onto a winner.

While Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and the other major centres are intriguing enough, it’s Vietnam’s striking landscape that most impresses. Rugged mountains hug the west, bordering Cambodia and Laos; to the east lies the South China Sea – or the East Sea, as the Vietnamese call it. To the north and south, the land fantails out into the splendid deltas of the Red River and the Mekong, and it’s in these regions that you’ll encounter the paddy fields, dragonflies, buffaloes, and conical-hatted farmers that constitute the classic images of Vietnam.

As for wildlife, the discovery in recent years of several previously unknown species of plants, birds, and animals showcases the wealth of Vietnam’s biodiversity. This makes the improving access to the country’s national parks all the more gratifying for travelers wanting to visit Vietnam.

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